Podcast Summary
Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart
Episode: Criterion Channel Celebrates VHS and Video Stores
Date: March 23, 2026
Featured Guest: Clyde Foley, Criterion Channel Curator
Theme: Exploring the history, cultural impact, and cinematic representation of VHS and video stores, tied to the Criterion Channel’s new collection “VHS Forever”.
Episode Overview
This engaging episode marks the 50th anniversary of the VHS format. Host Alison Stewart and guest Clyde Foley delve into the cultural revolution VHS spurred—transforming film into a home collectible commodity, reshaping how we watch, share, and talk about movies. They discuss the Criterion Channel’s curated collection, “VHS Forever,” which spotlights films that feature or comment on VHS and video store culture, and invite listeners to share personal VHS memories and stories.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. VHS: A Cultural Revolution (01:14–03:01)
- VHS, first launched by JVC in 1976, gave the public unprecedented control over what and when to watch.
- Clyde Foley: “This was the beginning of movies as a commodity. This is the beginning of movies as an object that you can hold.” (02:33)
- Home video led to the rise of collecting films, the explosion of video rental stores, and a shift in how audiences related to movies.
2. Video Store Culture in Cinema (03:01–06:51)
Clerks (1994) and Kevin Smith’s Breakthrough
- Smith’s debut film, “Clerks,” set in a convenience and video store, became emblematic of Gen X slacker subculture.
- Foley describes Smith’s inspiration: “I believe the story is he had just watched Richard Linklater, Slacker at the Angelica and thought, ‘This is a movie. I could do this.’ And so he did.” (03:19)
- Notable clip played: characters debating over renting a coveted tape, highlighting the camaraderie and “obnoxiousness” of clerk life (04:36–05:10).
- Foley: “Being the lord of your own domain via all this knowledge…that is effectively worthless and not applicable in the real world at all.” (05:16)
- Video stores served as social and cultural hubs, especially for young people.
Listener Calls: Personal VHS Memories
- Stephen (06:01): Regret over discarding an extensive VHS collection, now missed by his “retro tech”-obsessed son.
- Daniel (07:00): Recounts hunting for rare subtitled “Dragon Ball Z” tapes in Manhattan, highlighting video stores as gateways to niche and global content.
- Alison Stewart reads a text (07:46): Family banned from a local shop for “repeatedly failing to rewind the tape”—a nostalgic nod to “Be Kind, Rewind” culture.
- Foley response: “Brutal. Absolutely savage. I’m sorry.” (07:57)
3. Documenting the Video Store: ‘Video Heaven’ & Representation in Film (08:00–11:43)
- Alex Ross Perry’s ‘Video Heaven’ (edited by Foley) is the only documentary in the Criterion collection, focusing on how video stores are depicted in film and TV.
- Foley: “[It] is about the history of video stores as told through their depictions in film and television...it made sense as this is a film that is about the history of video stores as told through their depictions in film and television.” (08:29)
- ‘The Watermelon Woman’ by Cheryl Dunye (1996):
- A landmark in queer cinema and a sharp, funny take on video store work and archival obsessions.
- Foley: “It is a movie that’s a comedy about the video store, but it is also its own act of archiving work…” (09:38)
- Memorable staff-customer banter clip played, filled with genre recommendations (10:51–11:43).
4. Why Are Video Stores Cinematic? (11:44–12:14)
- Video stores became routine settings for community life in the ‘80s and ‘90s (e.g., recurring “Seinfeld” scenes).
- Foley: “This was just something that everyone did for decades, and then everyone stopped doing this.” (11:54)
5. The Global Perspective and The VHS Decline (12:14–13:34)
- Tomas (12:20): Shares memories of working for LG Electronics, defending VHS as it lingered in global markets, and recounts the bittersweet decline: seeing stores liquidate tapes, buying boxes to preserve them.
- Listener texts shout out legendary NYC video stores (Allen’s Alley, Kim’s), celebrated for their staff’s deep knowledge and eclectic stock (13:35).
6. VHS as Object of Obsession and Threat (13:34–17:13)
- ‘Videodrome’ (1983, David Cronenberg):
- The earliest and most thematically prescient film in the collection.
- Foley: “It’s the film that lays out almost every single applicable theme for movies about videotape…fascination with new technology, chaos, danger, evil and sex.” (14:07)
- ‘The Ring’ (2002):
- VHS as literal harbinger of doom.
- Memorable in-film legend dramatized in clip: “Have you heard about this videotape that kills you when you watch it?...You will die in seven days.” (15:41–16:29)
- Foley highlights Naomi Watts' performance and the film’s influence on American horror (16:34).
- ‘Lost Highway’ (David Lynch):
- VHS tapes as surveillance and nightmare fuel, cultivating a uniquely unsettling aesthetic.
- Foley: “The thing about Lost Highway… Lynche utilizes really well…the texture of VHS…It’s a more low-res image…it’s grimy.” (17:32)
7. The Loss of Video Stores: Cultural Impact (18:25–19:15)
- Judah (18:30): Mourns the loss of video stores as akin to losing bookstores: “With the video store you were able to…get recommendations…films of all genres and all decades. I think that’s a big loss. Ultimately it even hurts the film business.”
8. Speed Round: More Notable Picks from ‘VHS Forever’ (19:23–20:32)
- ‘52 Pickup’ (1986, John Frankenheimer): A hard-edged neo-noir with a blackmail plot using videotapes.
- ‘The Big Hit’: Hong Kong director Kirk Wong’s comic actioner—includes “the most beautiful video store ever made for a film, and they destroy it.”
- Foley: “I just think it’s an underseen movie that’s pretty great…if you’re in the mood for that sort of thing, it’s pretty great.” (19:23)
- On ‘The Big Hit’: “Really funny and obnoxious…they destroy [the video store], so check it out.” (19:57)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
“This was the beginning of movies as a commodity. This is the beginning of movies as an object that you can hold.”
– Clyde Foley (02:33)
-
On video store clerks’ pride:
“Being the lord of your own domain via all this knowledge…that is effectively worthless and not applicable in the real world at all.”
– Clyde Foley (05:16)
-
Listener nostalgia:
“I just was toting it from place to place and I’m like, what am I doing? And I just chucked it all in the dumpster. And now I have a 14 year old son who is obsessed with retro technology… I lost legacy.”
– Stephen, caller (06:02)
-
On ‘Videodrome’:
“It’s the film that lays out almost every single applicable theme for movies about videotape going forward…David Cronenberg just got it. He knew.”
– Clyde Foley (14:07)
-
On the loss of video stores:
“It’s like a loss of a good bookstore or any bookstore…It wasn’t just new releases; it was, you know, films of all genres and all decades…”
– Judah, caller (18:30)
-
On Lynch’s VHS aesthetic:
“It’s a more low-res image than film. It’s grimy. And the way it looks in the movie…the lines are really apparent… but it’s its own particular look.”
– Clyde Foley (17:32)
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Segment | Timestamp |
|------------------------------------------------|:-----------:|
| Introduction to VHS & cultural impact | 01:14–03:01 |
| ‘Clerks’ and video store culture | 03:01–05:16 |
| Listener calls: VHS memories | 06:01–07:57 |
| ‘Video Heaven’ documentary | 08:00–08:29 |
| ‘The Watermelon Woman’ discussion & clip | 09:38–11:43 |
| The ubiquity of video stores in film | 11:44–12:14 |
| Global VHS decline & video store nostalgia | 12:20–13:35 |
| ‘Videodrome’ and the threat of VHS | 13:34–14:36 |
| ‘The Ring’ clip and horror analysis | 15:41–16:51 |
| David Lynch’s ‘Lost Highway’ | 17:13–18:25 |
| The loss of video stores | 18:30–19:15 |
| Foley’s “Speed Round” of recommendations | 19:23–20:32 |
Final Thoughts
This episode is a vibrant, nostalgic, and insightful salute to the VHS era and the enduring magic of video store culture. Through film analysis and personal recollections, it captures both the excitement of newfound movie access and the bittersweet disappearance of the neighborhood video shop. As “VHS Forever” debuts on the Criterion Channel, Alison Stewart and Clyde Foley invite us all to reconsider the tactile, communal joys of physical media and the unique chapters it wrote in our personal and cinematic histories.
